10 January 2018 - time for new tyres

Regular readers of my long-term updates will know that I do a lot of miles, and that this has been taking its toll on the tyres on my Kia Optima Sportswagon. So, I decided to bite the bullet and get them changed.

I was interested to find out that the Optima SW runs on Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres as standard, which is quite sporty rubber that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see on a 130bhp diesel family estate.

I shopped around for some tyre prices and then took the car down to Micheldever Tyre Services in Hampshire. To replace my Pilot Sport 3s with an identical set would cost £357.

That was a bit more than I was hoping to spend, and since the Optima SW isn't a performance car, I thought I’d maybe opt for something a bit cheaper. In the end I went for Michelin Primacys, the next option down on the price list at £310.

I’ve now done a few hundred miles on the fresh set and the differences are very slight but just about noticeable. The ride feels a tiny bit stiffer and tyre noise – particularly over motorway expansion joints – seems to be a bit louder, but other than that, it’s business as usual.

Would I recommend other Optima Sportswagon owners downgrade on their first tyre change? Well, I think it’s great that Kia provides Pilot Sports 3s as standard. Although it’s not by a hugely noticeable amount, the Pilot Sport 3s are better in every respect than the Primacys, so really it’s up to you whether you want to save £50 or not.

It’s early days, but personally, if I were to change again, I’d fork out the extra £50 to get the better tyres.

I’m interested to hear if anyone else has changed their tyres from Pilot Sport 3 to Primacy, so please do let us know if you have.

I’m still enjoying running this car and racking up the miles, and because it's approaching the 20,000-mile mark, I've booked it in for a service. I’ll update you on how that goes in my next report.

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